First, it must win at Nicholls State (7-16, 3-8), completing a season-series sweep that gives it the head-to-head tiebreaker a 5-1/2-game lead with five games left.

Then, Lamar needs two teams with 2-8 Southland records to lose. If that happens, Lamar would hold a six-game lead on each of them with five games to go.

Those teams are Texas State and Southeastern Louisiana.

Who do those teams play? Here’s who:

— Texas State plays at UT-Arlington (10-0 Southland), which has a 14-game win streak that stands as the longest in the nation.

— Southeastern plays at home against Northwestern State (7-3), which had a five-game winning streak before it lost Wednesday at Lamar.

Or, if one of those teams wins and the other loses, Lamar could also clinch a spot if Texas A&M-Corpus Christi loses at home against Sam Houston State. Both of those teams are 3-7 in league play.

But because these games tip off after Lamar’s 1 p.m. game Saturday — the latest one is 7 p.m. at UTA — the Cardinals might not know if it has a tournament berth until after the team completes its four-hour bus ride back from Thibodaux, La.

But it should make for an interesting day. Provided Lamar wins, of course.